For those of you reading this journal directly from a bookmark or something like that, be sure to visit the main site (http://www.GuyWithTheCoat.com), because the site is now New and Improved, with greater ease of finding things, and new fancy html skills. So check that out.

In other news, I realized this weekend that Valentine’s Day is just two weeks away, and I as of yet do not have a Valentine. The search begins…

Lately my computer has had quite a bit of trouble reading CDs, and it was getting to be such a hassle that I hadn’t even been able to play my wonderful new CDs at all - but today all that changed, for I took a mystical quest to the Bellis Fair Mall!

I had been thinking that there was a Best Buy right around the mall somewhere, and I decided to go there to get a CD player after I walked around the mall for a while. So I wandered about in the Consumer Paradise that is the Bellis Fair Mall (which is actually very nice - much better than The Commons At Federal Way). As I wandered, I found myself in F.Y.E. (music store), and since I was in there, I decided to take a look and see if they had anything on my List of Things to Look For: Dan Bern, Five Iron Frenzy, The Shins, TISM (the newest addition to the list), and cheap soundtracks. They didn’t have any Dan Bern, Five Iron Frenzy, TISM, or cheap soundtracks - but they did have both Shins albums, for $16.99. And that is too much for poor me to be buying CDs.

So I was about to walk out of the store empty handed, when what did I see but a large display of Two for $20 CDs, so I decided to look and see if there was anything good. Of course I didn’t expect much, since there was a pretty low selection in the box there, but I looked through it anyway, and lo and behold: both of The Shins’ CDs! The ones they were selling for $16.99 just two rows away were selling here in the box for only $10 each! So I picked them both up, and scratched The Shins off the list of CDs to look for.

And then it was on to Best Buy… or it would have been, if there hadn’t been a big ol’ Target right there in the mall. I went in to the Target and straight to the electronics department, and straight to the Clearance Section. It was my lucky day at the target there: they had a wide variety of CD players in the clearance section. Unfortunately the one I really wanted turned out to not be on clearance. But there was still a good selection. I picked up this Philips CD SoundMachine (regular price: $44, Clearance Price: $22). It is a pretty nifty little CD player/radio - and its also a bit odd, because I have no color what it is. Depending on the angle you hold it, it either looks dark orange, red, purple, or some other reddy color. And the audio quality is decent, so I’d say it was a pretty good deal indeed.

But the journey did not end there, because by the time I had left target, it was about lunch time, so I decided to stop by the food quart and pick up some Ivars (I’ve been eating quite a bit of seafood lately - of the past three meals I’ve eaten out, two of them were Boss Tweed’s seafood restaurant, and once was Skippers). But on my way to the food court, I saw an Old Country Buffet. And the crazy part was that it cost less than $7 to eat at O.C.B. - which seemed crazy because I always remember it as being really expensive. But here it was, cheaper than the on-campus cafeteria! So I went in, and had a nice big buffet meal of - are you ready for this? - seafood. I had some fried fish, and some broiled (or something) fish. But to mix it up, I had some sort of Chinese chicken dish, and some veggies, and some bread stuffing, and a tasty cheesy roll. And apple crisp for desert. Unfortunately, none of it was as delicious as I thought it should have been (aside from the roll), so I don’t think I’ll be going back any time soon. But it was a nice change from chicken strips, tots, potstickers, and the like.

After lunch, I went over to Value Village to pick up a white t-shirt and jeans for my 261 scene tomorrow, but I forgot about that until I was already back to campus. Oh well. Anyway, it was a highly productive and consumer-driven day. Hooray for me, driving the economy!

I was browsing the ‘net earlier and found a great website that allows you to pay $20 and then a celebrity will call you and give you a 30 second greeting. I thought that sounded like a great idea, and so now that site will have a little competition from Celebrities! On Line One!

The Captain recieved this e-mail this morning:

Ladies and gentlemen, and fellow poets . . . It’s now time to declare the winner of the largest cash prize ever awarded to an amateur poet . . . Our Poet of the Year for 2005 . . . and Grand Prize winner of $20,000 is . . .

Captain McGregor!

We’re familiar with your work, Captain, and you know . . .
it could happen just that way!

Dear Captain,

I would like to inform you of your nomination as Poet of the Year for 2005, and to personally invite you to read your poetry at the single largest gathering of poets in history, where you will be formally inducted as an International Poet of Merit and Honored Member of our Society for 2005.

Your induction will take place Friday evening, February 25th, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, during the International Society of Poets Spring 2005 Convention and Symposium.

You will also be honored with two separate and very special awards for your poetic achievement at special ceremonies throughout the weekend.

First, to honor and commemorate your poetic accomplishments, after you present your poetry in front of fellow poets from around the world, amidst the applause from the audience, you will be presented with your Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Silver Award Bowl. The Award is a magnificent work of art in itself ($200.00 value), uniquely engraved and mounted on a cherry-wood base (see it here). This incomparable award is so large and heavy, you may need an extra suitcase just to carry it home!

And Captain . . . there’s much more . . .

In recognition of your poetry presentation at this prestigious International Symposium, we will also create and present to you a beautiful and colorful Commemorative Award Medallion to honor your poetic dedication and achievements.

… (bla bla bla about all the great awards they’ll give out)…

And that’s still just the beginning . . . we’ve got three very special days planned for you . . . ones you’ll never forget!

**You will be officially inducted as an honorary “International Poet of Merit” for 2005.

**You and your poetic achievements will be honored at two Gala Banquets and Award Ceremonies.

**Florence Henderson, legendary star of “The Brady Bunch” and long time friend of ISP, will be on hand all weekend long to inspire and entertain us.

**You will enjoy dazzling world class entertainment created especially for you featuring legendary Motown Singing group The Marvelettes. You will be up close and personal when The Marvelettes thrill us with their classic hits including “Please, Mr. Postman” and “Don’t Mess With Bill”. These special command performances will delight you. There will also be many other surprise Las Vegas Headliners and Midnight Dance Parties on both Friday and Saturday nights!

**You will learn more about your craft in seminars, reading rooms, rap sessions, and workshops, where you can read and discuss your poetry in informal settings with other poets from all over the world. Back by popular demand are the ISP rap rooms, our famous sunrise poetry readings, the ISP Coffee House, the ISP Open Microphone Rooms, and workshops on how to fine-tune your poetic talents.

**You will have the rare opportunity to get up-close and personal with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W. D. Snodgrass, Academy of American Poets Past Chancellor David Wagoner, Dr. Len Roberts, Dr. Herbert Woodward Martin, and over twenty other poetry celebrities who will be in attendance.

**You will attend a VIP reception where you can take pictures, get autographs, and personally meet all of the celebrity poets in attendance.

**You will participate in a fantastic international poetry competition featuring 36 prizes totaling $74,000.00. A Grand Prize of $20,000.00, two all-expenses paid vacations for two, including a Caribbean cruise and a trip to Cancun, Mexico, 8 other cash prizes totaling $9,000.00, 10 poetry recording contracts, 10 book publishing contracts, and 5 $1,000.00 Young Poets Scholarship prizes will be awarded at this single event.

**You and your guests will also be eligible to win one of many door prizes, valued at over $6,000.00.

**You will make friendships that will last a lifetime and will return home with wonderful memories, your Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Silver Award Bowl, your Commemorative Award Medallion, and lots of other special gifts.

DON’T BE LEFT OUT

Don’t miss this opportunity. Space is limited, and our Conventions routinely sell out. Plan to join your fellow poets at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, February 25-27, 2005, for the poetic event of the year! I am also looking forward to meeting you and celebrating the power and beauty of poets and poetry!

Sincerely,
Steve Michaels
International Society of Poets
Convention Chairperson

Click here for more information.

Click here to Register Now, or go to
https://www.poetry.com/poetscorner/register.asp?VIP=P6672523&SC=T145

******

And for those who have not yet been convinced of Captain McGregor’s poetic skills, you can order his famous poem “When I Go Into Battle” in a handsome coffee table book for only $49.95 here!

For those with high-speed internet, you can now download my digital photos in full resolution rather than the very shrunk down versions from here in the journal.

Hooray! Enjoy: Full Resolution Photos

Hey everyone! It’s a…

It all began yesterday, when the snow began to fall. Unfortunately it was a warm day yesterday, so it didn’t start to really build up until last night:

Before I left campus for the night, the snow was deep enough to make a snow angel (made by me):

and a snow woman (made by other people. And some other people turned it into a snow penis after I had taken this picture, and somebody had torn that down before I got back to campus this morning):

This amount of snow made me happy:

And this morning, this was the view from my porch:

After I got dressed I walked out into the Winter Wonderland, and noticed that the snow was “two feet” deep:

To take advantage of the lack of class, I decided to hike to campus:

When I got to campus, I noticed that there were already people having snowball fights and having snow day fun:

The only people that weren’t having fun were the little green people who were being forced to haul rocks, despite the cold weather:

But aside from them, the campus was filled with joyous snow fun, and beautious scenery:

After I had walked around campus, I decided to walk downtown:

Once I had walked all around and had some lunch and bought a Dan Bern CD at Cellophane Square, it was time to go home, because I had run out of room on my camera to take pictures.